Folding cot



I. S. PURCELL. FOLDING 00T- APPLICATION FILED OCT- 25. I920.

Patented Nov. 7, 1922.

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l. S. PURCELL. FOLDING COT. APPLICATION FILED ocr. 25. 191 0.

Patented Nov. 7, 1922 4HET-H lllll .HA

I. S. PUBCELL.

FOLDING COT. APPLICATION fltED on, 25. I920.

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Patented Nov. 7, 1922.

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FOLDING COT. APfLlCATION FILED am. 25. I920; 1 134,962. 4 Patented Nov.7, 1922.

ill I l a m J J 1% N W JnYql'nA-J jjacc FL/Pce// I of the frame bothwhen the latter is erected and up to certain steps in the folding of.

Patented Nov. 7, .1922. I

teaser ISAAC S. PUBGELL, OF OAK PARK, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR T0 TENTOBEDCOMIPANY OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OF ILLINOIS.

FOLDING cor.

Apphcation filed October 25, 1920; Serial No. 419,273.

To all in 7mm it may concern Be it known that I, lsAiio l... PURoELL',

citizen of the United States, residing at Oak Park, Illinois, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in a Folding b ot; and I dohereby declare-the following to be a full, clear, and exact descriptionof the invention, such as will enable others skilled in .,the art towhich it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to a frame for folding cots or the like, and in itsgeneral aspects aims to provide a frame construction whichwill affordunusual rigidity at all ol. its joints when the cot iserected, whichwill leave the constituent parts all interconnected when the frame .isfolded into acompactspace, and which will. maintain the relativerigidityof some of the constituent elements up to certain steps in thefolding of the frame, so as to facilitate this folding.

More particularly, my invention aims to Pil'OVlLlG a frame constructionof this general class which will readily lend itself to. an all metalconstruction, which will be adapted to afford a symmetrical frame withside rails close to the edges of the bed-bottom, and onein which thelegs will be rigidly held in place when the cot is erected for use.Furthermore, my invention aims to provide a folding frame for a cot orother bed affording rigidity for the legs without eniivloyingcross-braces or connections of any .laind between the two legs, whichwill autd matically hold the end legs at right angles to. both thesiderail and end rail members the frame, Which will automatically releasethe hold on these legs at certain points during the fol din of the frameso as to permit thelegs to be folded against normally horizontal frameportions, and in which the end and side rails will normally cooperatefor holding the corner legs rigidly their desired positions, Moreover,my invention aims to provide a folding cotframe construction in whichthe desired normal rigidity of the legs can be obtained by the use ofsimple and inexpensive hinge castings, aims to provide a lateralrigidity for the oints 1n l the side .rails'for cooperating with theenorails in holding the corner legs rigidly verheal, and aims to provide afolding cot in which the tension of the bed-bottom Wlll normally cooperate with gravity in holding both the heme poltion proper and the intheir operative positions.

In some of ts aspects, my invention relates to a folding cot suitablefor outdoor use and adapted both. for being folded into a compact space(such as will enable it to be carried conveniently on the running boardof an automobile) and. for sup orting its own tent. ihrrangements of"this geiieral class have been shown in U. S. Patents Nos. 1255224,1285790, 1300872, 1285791 and 1286190 as all heretofore issued to me.However, these previously disclosed cot frame bracingbetween thelaterally opposed legs of the cot to hold the legs in their operativepositions, and have also required auxiliary braces lnterposed betweenthe end legs and the side rails for preventing the pivota llyv (OHlMCtWllegs from moving about their pivots in the vertical planesof theadjacent side rails of the cot. My present invention aims to secure thedesired stability and rigidity for the end rails without requiringcrossbraces and more particularly aims to do this p constructions haverequired transverse CEOSC- by clamping extensions of the endlegs be- 1fication and from the accompanying draw ings, in which- I l y i Fig. 1is a side elevation of a folding cot embodying my invention. i I Fig; 2is an end elevation of the same.

. Fig. 3 a fragmentary plan view ofthe same; 1

Fig. l is a fragmentary view ofthe cot when folded, this figure beingdrawn on a larger scale and showing the folded positions of the siderail and legs at one side of the cot, together with the means forconnectino these elements to each other and to the 611(1 rails of thecot.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged section taken centrally and longitudinally throughone end of a side rail member and the adjacent corner leg when thelatter is folded against this withthe bed-bottom omitted, showing thearrangement of the legs and frame members when the cot is erected foruse.

Fig. 9 is a similar diagrammatic view taken during the first step in thefolding of the cot frame and showinghow the corner legs are maintainedin rigid position during; this step of the folding. U

Fig. "10 is a similar diagrammatic view showing the parts after eachfolded side rail member has been swung around the adjacent ends of thetwo end rails, thereby releasing the corner legs so that these cantoldup against the adjacent side rail members.

1 Fig. 11 is an enlarged and vertical transyerse section through one 01the side rail hinges, taken along the correspondingly numbered line inFig. 1 or Fig. 12.

Fig. 12 is a plan view of another embodiment of my invention, namelyone'in which the corner hinge castings are reversed in position fromthose of Fig. 3, so as to spread the side rails further apart and sothat both of the side rails can be folded against the overlapped end 1ails without first swinging them around the tips of the latter.

Each of the end rails is pivotally eonneeted at each end to the acjacentside rail members; by a corner hinge member which (in the arrangement ofFig. 3) permits the adjacent side rail member to be swung around the tipof the end rail substantially through an arc of 270 during the foldingor the cot frame. For this purpose I desirably employ malleable ironcastings 4. each substantially L-shaped in plan view, and each havingone end secured to the adjacent side rail member, while its other end isforked toatlord a pair of arms 5 straddling'the adjacent end rail. Thesearms 5 and 5 are respectively disposed above and below theadjacent endrail and'are pivoted to the end rail by means of a pivot bolt 6 as shownin Figs. .1 and 2. Each of the said L-shaped hino'e members has itsforked portion equipped with arecess adjacent to'the torlr proper,thereby leaving room for the inter- .upper end of a casting S thecasting this leg-carrying posing of a leg extension T formed by tl ewhich is riveted to the adjacent corner leg 9 after the mannerillustrated in Fig. This casting 8 is pivoted tothe L:haped casting t ona pivot pin 10 dispose-cl below both the adjacent side rail and endrail, after the general manner shown in Fig. 5, and the lower arm 5* ofthe said L-shaped and forked casting is cut away as shown in the samefigure .to per- Init the extension 7 on the extension casting 8 to swinginto and out of its said interposed posiion.

ll he'nthe cot is erected, this extension 7 is disposed upwardly asshown in dotted lines in 5, so that it is clamped between the adjacentend rail 2 and the part of the casting); l; which ailords a closure torthe pipe 12 ot the adjacent side rail member. Consequently, thisclamping oi the part '7 (which part rins a rigid extension for the leg9) serves to hold this le lirmly against reel"- ,ing upon its pivotalmountingz. and since 8 is pivoted with a. close lateral ts ll of ingwillalso be held against swi ing: transversely of the cot frame.Consequently, each such corner leg is ri idly held in position when thecot is erected, without req .irirsg either cr ssronnections between theadjacent legs. or braces between the corner leg and one of the adjacentrails of the cot frame.

Each side rail member of the cot illustrated is articulated upon ahorizontal the casting between two downward lorlr ax s. so that itconsists of two sections, desirably of: substantially equal length andpivoted to each other by means of hinge castings 1%. Thus a side railsection 12 may have its hinge end entered aplug forming part oi a-n L-shaped casting 15 which is pivoted to an unwardly extending fork on across-shaped casting let as shown in Fig. 4-, while the latter castinglikewise carries a plug eXtension 16 which is soclreted in the adjacentend oi the companion side rail section 12 The casting 14; also desirablyhas as one of its normally horizontal arms an upwardly open channelportion extending in the opposite direction from the said plug 16 andadapted to receive the adjacent end portion of the section 12 when thecot is erected, so as to aid in supporting the latter and so as toafford lateral webs 20 which engage the sides of the other section tohold the two sections against such relative rocking laterally of the cott'rame as might be per mitted by lost motion at this hinge.

The casting 14. also is connected by a pivot pin 17 to one of the centerlegs 18 of the cot fran e, andthis leg 18 is here shown con nected by afolding brace 19 with th'e same rai section 12 to which the hingecasting 1%.! is rigidly fastened. The brace 19 de- 1 ieaeoa sir-ablyconsists of two pivotally connected brace portions adapted to fold closeto each other as shown in Big. 1 and having a stop lug 2101i one ofthese brace ortions adapt ed to engage the other part for limiting theopening of the brace.

With the parts thus arranged and with the corner legs 9 and the centerlegs 18 of equal length, the side rail sections 12 and 12 can readily bedisposed in alinement with each other when the cot frame is erected, andthe braces 19 then hold the center legs rigid longitudinally of the cotframe. At the same time, the hinge con nection at the pivot 17 holdseach center leg against movement laterally of the cot, so that nobracing of the center legs is re quired transversely of'the cot. Eachbrace 19 therefore cooperates with the hinge formed by the parts 1 1 and15 in holding the adjacent side rail sections in rigid extension of oneanother, and the channel sides 20 cooperate with the hinge constructionin preventing the side rail sections from swinging laterally of the cotabout the hinge connection between them, thereby maintaining the siderails. and end rails in proper right-angled relation to each other andfirmly clamping the extensions on the end legs so as to maintain theselegsin rigid vertical positions.

In folding the cot frame which is diagrammatically shown in Fig. 8, (thecanvas bed-bottom being omitted from the three diagrammatic views tosimplify the drawings) the left hand end rail in this figure(corresponding to the left hand end rail in/Fig. l) is lifted so as todouble the side rail sections upon each other by a swinging movementafter the manner shown in Fig. 9. While this is being done, the L-shapedconnecting members at the corners of the cot trame hold the end legsrigid with re spect to the adjacent frame portions while the braces 19likewise hold the center legs rigid. Consequently no attention whateverneeds to be paid to any of the logs while the cot frame is thus doubledupon itself.

After this has been done, one after another of the side rail member canbe swung clear around the adjacent end of the two overlapped end railsor through an arc of approximately 270" in doing which the castings lautomatically release the extensions on the end legs, while each brace19 can be snapped shut by hand. Consequently, the legs can readily befolded close to the adja cent side rail sections, after the manner showndiagrammatically in Fig. 10 and shown more in detail in Fig. 4-.

hen the cot is erected, the tension of the bed-bottom continually urgesthe end rails towards each other and hence tends to force these endrails into clamping relation to the upward extensions 7 on the cornererate in holding" the gravity on the hinged side'railsin maintaining thehorizontal frame portion in rigid rectangular formation. I am thereforeable to provide an unusually rigid cot with a. minimum of parts, whilealso utilizing some of the same parts for holding the legs rigid duringpart of the steps of folding the frame and hencemaking it easier for oneman or woman to accomplish the-folding or unfoldingof the frame.

However, while I have illustrated and described my invention in a highlydesirable embodiment, {do not wish to be limited to the detail of theconstruction and ar-' rangement thus discloseth nor to its employlegs,and also cooperates with the actionof inent in. connection withcanvas-bottomed.

cots, it beingobvious that various modifications might be made in theconstruction and arrangement without departing from the spirit of myinvention or from the appended claims. For example, the generalprinciples of my invention may be applied with equal facility inembodiments in which the l shaped castings are reversed in positionsfrom these shown in Fig. 3, thus connecizingthe end and side rails sothat'only a rela-f. tire degree movement about the corner hinges isrequiredin erecting the cot frame or in folding the same.

lclaim as my invention 1. In a folding cot a frame comprising framemembers pivoted to each other at the corners of the frame, and legsQnCllPiVOtQil to one frame member adjacent to acorner of the frame andfreely spaced from the their legs, each leg having an upward extensionnormally clamped between the two frame members forming the adjacentcorner, whereby the said two frame members coopsaid leg in its normalposition;

2. In a frame for a folding cot, an end rail member a side rail memberhingedly' conneetedthereto and arrangedfor permit ting the siderail tobe swun around the tip of the endrail, and a leg oted to the hinge andhaving a portion normally clamped between adjacent portions of the tworail members to prevent the leg from moving about its pivotal mounting.l

In a frame for a folding cot an end rail member a side railmember sohinged thereto as to permit the side rail. to be swung with respect tothe end rail in the general plane of the said frame, and a leg pivotedto one of the said members below both thereof and having an upwardextension normally confined between portions thereof whereby theconfining of the leg extension prevents the leg from moving about itspivotal mounting.

In a

41. frame for a foldingcot an end rain a fork straddling the end railnear the tip of the latter and having its arms re- Cii spect-ively aboveand below the end rail,

fined bctweenthe end rail and a portion of the forkfor preventing amovement of the leg about its pivot.

JL frame for a two side rail members each thereof consisting of a pairof sections disposed in substantial continuation of each other butspaced from each other, and hinge connecting the two sections; two endrail members; hinges respectively connecting the side rail sections andthe adjacent tips of end-and side rail members with each other, whilespacing the said connected portions from each other; and corner legsrespectively pivoted to the side rail members at the tips thereof, eachcorner leg having an upward extension normally confined in the adjacentone of said spaces for preventing the fron moving about its pivotalmounting,

6, A frame for a folding cot, comprising a pair of end rails, a pair ofarticulated side rails each pivotally connected at its opposite endsrespectively to the end rails, the pivotalconnection between the railspermitting the same tobe moved into extension of each other; legspivoted to the frame substantially; at the said connections between theside and end rails; and means associated with the last named connectionsfor preventing the legs from movingabout their normal relatively trans'erse means being arranged for permitting free position, the said.

pivotal movement of'the'legs when the side folding cot, comprising railsare folded upon their articulating joints and thereafter swung intopositions substantially parallel to the end rails.

7. In 'afolding cot, a frame comprising horizontal. members pivotallvinterconnected at the corners of the frame, legs respectively gpi-votedto the frame adjacent to the pivotal corner junctures in the frame, andmeans associated with each of the said pivotal corner ,jnnctures fornormally holding the adjacent leg in a vertical position, each of thesaid holding means being so arranged as to release its hold on theadjacent leg when the frame parts associated therewith are movedsubstantially ninety degrees about from its clamping when the last namedtwo members are relatively moved to a predetermined extent about theirpivotal connection to each other, and means associated with thepivotal'junctures. of the side rail sections for preventing suchrelative movement of the side rail and end rail members when the cot iserected.

Signed at Chicago, October 22nd,1920.

Isaac s. PURGELL.

